LTO extends validity of driver’s licenses that expired April 3 onwards for a year

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 7) — The validity of driver's licenses that expired April 3 onwards will be extended for a year while the production of new ones remains on hold, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) said Thursday.

“Those driver’s licenses which are expiring or have expired from April 3, 2023 until April 1, 2024 they are deemed extended until April 2, 2024,” LTO chief Vigor Mendoza II told CNN Philippines’ The Source.

Mendoza said the extension is automatic, so affected drivers do not have to go to an LTO office to obtain an extension validity stamp. All they have to show is the memo on the matter, which will be disseminated starting Thursday. Law enforcers will be informed about this policy, he added.

In a budget hearing on Sept. 5, Mendoza told House lawmakers that the LTO will be extending the validity of driver’s licenses. This was after Agri Party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee and Northern Samar Rep. Raul Daza made an appeal to help motorists renew their licenses while the production is put on hold due to a pending a case before a Quezon City regional trial court.

The court has stopped the awarding of the contract for the production of driver's license cards, placing 1.7 million backlogs in limbo.

The court issued a 20-day temporary restraining order following a petition from AllCard, Inc., the company that was disqualified from the bidding for the card supply deal despite having the lowest bid of ₱176.85 million. The winning bid is worth ₱240.1 million.

Mendoza said a hearing on the case will be conducted on Thursday.

The LTO hopes that during the extension period, authorities will be able to resolve the case. The agency said it will also use the period to come up with backup plans.

Once the plastic cards are available, affected drivers will be informed to head to their respective LTO offices to have their licenses renewed and they will be given enough time to comply, Mendoza said.